By Brian Konrad & Ashley Wiebe

Former city police commission member charged with fraud

Aug 8, 2018 | 7:25 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB —  A former member of the Medicine Hat Police Commission has been charged with several fraud-related offenses.
 
A lengthy investigation by police resulted in the charges against Rolf Traichel, 45, of Medicine Hat.
 
It’s alleged the offences happened between 2010 and 2016 and resulted in a loss in excess of $1 million to the Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education.

“Money that the school division has goes to our programming and staffing,” said board chair Dick Mastel. “Where it would have gone, to this cubby hole or that cubby hole, it’s impossible to say, but it just comes from general revenues.”

“In any fraud investigation, following the money trail is quite extensive and it is quite in depth,” said Inspector Tim McGough. “It’s quite complicated and that’s why it took us over six months to get to the conclusion of where we were confident in laying charges.”
 
Traichel’s term on the police commission expired in December 2017 and the matter was reported to police in January 2018.

Based on the investigation to date, it is believed that the alleged fraud was isolated to the one organization.

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“We have done a forensic audit as well and we have a pretty good notion as to how the fraud was purported, but again that will be information that will come out at trail,” Mastel added. 

Traichel is expected to appear in court on September 11th.